Minister of Urban and Rural Development James Sankwasa delivered a stern warning to regional councillors regarding resource mismanagement and accountability at the 9th Congress of the Association of Regional Councils in Rundu.
The minister emphasised that constituents possess the legal right to petition for the removal of underperforming local leaders.
The 9th Congress of the Association of Regional Councils (ARC) is underway in Rundu, bringing together regional leadership from across Namibia to deliberate on matters concerning regional governance, development and the future of local authorities.
The congress provides a platform for elected leaders from all 14 regions to engage, exchange ideas and reflect on the role of regional councils in advancing national development.
"Are we as regional councils responsive to the needs of the Namibian people at the regional, local, and government level? If we are to deal with responsive government, are we responding to the needs of the people at the grassroots? Because in terms of our constitution, we have three tiers of government. The central government, the regional government of which you are responsible, and the local authority government. Particularly, regional and local governments are more at the grassroots level, where people are," stated Minister Sankwasa.
Sankwasa asked the regional leaders if they were truly serving the grassroots or just occupying office space.
Confronting delegates directly, Sankwasa demanded to know if councils have even identified their core developmental potential, let alone exploited it.
"If regional councils are not properly managed, what should the citizens of this country do? Because at the moment, the only democratic exercise that is happening is to wait for six years, then the people come and vote their councillor out. He's done nothing. Then he waits for the next councillor, who also fails after six years again, voting him out. Is this the best we can do? Why should we wait for elections to come and remove a councillor?"
The outgoing ARC president is Matengu Simushi.
"Regional councils are dealing with the communities at the grassroots level. So they need definitely to be equipped with knowledge."
The three-day congress is being held under the theme "Shaping Tomorrow, Together".